Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Reduced by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its Meta stake by 2.8%, selling 44,376 shares and retaining 1.57 million shares valued at approximately $883.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $788.88, despite mixed target revisions from individual firms.
• Meta shares opened at $670.24, while the company reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion in its latest quarter but missed analysts’ earnings-per-share expectations. Meta also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,567,722 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 44,376 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.7% of Korea Investment CORP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $883,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 262,961 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $148,123,000 after buying an additional 37,956 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,603 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,283,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 9,876 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 482 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burnham & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $542,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $788.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,192,072.02. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,183 shares of company stock valued at $36,673,495. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New Meta One subscriptions could create recurring AI revenue. Meta introduced plans ranging from individual to creator and business tiers, priced from $2.99 to $499 per month, offering expanded access to AI image, video and editing tools across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. The initiative gives investors a clearer path to monetizing AI beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: AI agents are being integrated into WhatsApp Business. Businesses will be able to use third-party AI agents to set up and manage customer messaging, potentially increasing WhatsApp’s commercial utility and supporting higher business adoption and revenue. TechCrunch article on WhatsApp Business AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable. Recent coverage highlights bullish views tied to Meta’s Muse AI platform, improving advertising performance and the company’s valuation relative to growth. One report says 55 analysts covering Meta have no sell ratings, while Goldman Sachs has identified further upside potential. Analyst coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta reportedly plans camera-free smart glasses. The internally named Luna glasses could broaden Meta’s wearables strategy while addressing privacy concerns associated with cameras, although launch details remain unconfirmed. Reuters article on Meta’s camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta said it will directly report child-safety cases to India’s cybercrime portal, a move that could improve regulatory cooperation but also underscores continuing scrutiny of its platforms. Article on Meta’s child-safety reporting in India
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain significant. California’s restrictions on certain youth-targeted advertising practices and a lawsuit involving alleged facial-recognition features in Meta’s smart glasses could increase legal costs and limit product functionality. Article on Meta’s regulatory risks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to debate whether Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure commitments will generate sufficient returns, particularly if interest rates remain elevated. A recent SEC filing also disclosed an insider sale worth approximately $13 million, which may weigh modestly on sentiment. Analysis of Meta’s AI spending

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $670.24 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $603.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $609.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.